For his family and friends, he was always known as Frank. As an actor and playwright, he was known as Louis F. Baum. As a newspaper editor, he was known as L. F. Baum. And a one of the most popular children’s book authors ever, he was known as L. Frank Baum. But in the resort community of Macatawa, however, Baum was known by another name: “The Goose Man.”

The Wizard of Oz rolled off the presses on May 17, 1900, but Baum actually had the top selling children’s book of the year one year earlier:

In 1899, Baum published “Father Goose: His Book.” The collection of children’s poems exploded in popularity and provided Baum with wealth and prestige for the first time in his life, his great-grandson, Bob Baum, recalled.

The author used the profits from his book to rent a large, multi-story Victorian summer home nestled on the southern end of the Macatawa peninsula on Lake Michigan.

The home, which he eventually purchased, came to be known as the Sign of the Goose, an ever-present reminder of the fame that came along with “Father Goose.”